One thought on “Blood Child”

I am never a fan of an author telling one’s readers what one was trying to accomplish when one set out to write one’s story, and I am even less a fan of an author telling the readers what one’s story means or doesn’t mean, so being faced with Octavia E. Butler’s afterwords for each story was not my favourite part of what was an otherwise strong cycle of her short works. But Butler, herself, is so amazing that her afterwords didn’t kill the experience for me (as I feared they would) a [...]

Octavia Butler hit me with the humanity and relatability I didn’t know I was seeking in the often cool and clinical world of science fiction. This was my first Butler book and, as it turns out, I adore the writer as much as I adore the writing. Who couldn’t fall for someone who sets out to write a pregnant man story (“Bloodchild), and gets real about that day she was so disgusted with humans and our inability to communicate with each other that she had to tell a grim tale about the end of [...]

This short story collection is excellent! It includes five stories by Butler, who considers herself much more a novelist than a short story writer. The stories are all terrific: "Speech Sounds" won the Hugo for best short story in 1984, and "Bloodchild" won for best novelette in 1985, so that's pretty awesome. (I love crossing things off the Hugo list.) The collection also includes two short essays at the end about writing and about how Butler became a writer. They're fun and very accessible. An [...]

I am not really a short story lover. They often end too quickly leaving me wanting more. I do however, love Octavia Butler. Her short story ideas are wonderful, full of creative energy and for the most part, well written. I enjoyed some stories more than others and of course wish some of them had not been so short. I especially enjoyed that she wrote a little about each story after it ended to tell what inspired it, etc. This gave me some real insight into her thinking and about the stories them [...]

A quick read and intriguing introduction to Butler's writing (I know! I too am incredulous that I've never read any Octavia Butler before now!) She states pretty unequivocally that she is more interested in the long form, so although only a couple of the short stories resonated with me, I'm very interested to continue on with her novels.

A compelling collection of short stories, essays and new work not included in the first edition. Of particular note is Butler's reflection in the form of afterwords on each story, which strengthens the reader's connection to Butler's writing process. Her utopia story included in the collection (the last story) has stuck with me far beyond closing the last page of the book. A must read for the Butler superfan.

Where to begin?I'll come back once I've decided this.And now I've decided.Reading this collection was incredibly necessary for me (as a writer, as a person of color, and as a woman). I found the stories amazing because of the imagination within them (the imagination they drew out of me to visualize what I was reading) and that some of the most seemingly simplistic tales were full of depth. Each piece contained an afterword offering not only her own intentions with the stories, but the ideas that [...]

Octavia Butler's prescient genius has affected all of us readers of her novels. She is one of those people you just need to know better as you know her work has contributed to such a magnificent increase in the spectrum of science(social) fiction. Then came her collection of short stories; "Blood Child". In her foreword she says: "The truth is, I hate short story writing . . . it has taught me much more about frustration and despair than I ever wanted to know." Then after each story she has adde [...]

As far as short story collections go, this one was really good! "Blood Child" wasweird, to say the least, but that's what makes Octavia Butler's writing so distinct. Men who are pregnant! People biting their arms off! She has a knack for exaggeration - exaggerating diseases, social issues, and psycho-dynamics until they are transformed into something else entirely. More specifically, her "something else" is science fiction and crazy nuanced worlds that she's creates so masterfully (and in such s [...]

Butler had a fascinating way of turning science fiction into social commentary and doing it from an almost invisible perspective in the genre; the Black perspective. I only wish she was still with us. I could only imagine what tales she could offer us in response to today's social climate.Blood Child is a short story set on a planet in which humans are the subservient species. Even if you are not a fan of science fiction (as I'm not really a fan of the genre) you can appreciate Butler's work her [...]

I thought the creepiness of "Bloodchild" and "The Evening the morning and the night" was compelling, but overall these stories were not engaging to me. I know this is something you could say with any short story, but all of these stories felt underdeveloped to me, and even though I enjoy open endings, the endings to these stories in general felt too open, they left me unsatisfied. That said, I did enjoy "Bloodchild" and "Near of Kin" the most, because of the way information slowly unfolded and b [...]

I wasn't sure what to expect this this book especially when I found out that it was science fiction. It was a quick fun read. I realized that I do like science fiction. Blood Child was not my favorite short story in this book but they all had an interesting plot that made you think for a minute when you were finished reading it. I would definatley recommend this book to someone who is looking to read something a little different and out of the ordinary.

Butler is smart and confident in Bloodchild and Other Stories; there is no doubt that anything that she writes is pure gold. Bloodchild is no different. In the book, Butler takes the reader through a series of unrelated tales that, often, convey a message. The titular “Bloodchild” is a story about aliens on earth (not our earth, an earth that is called Terra, from my understanding) and how they impregnate the human beings on the planet. It has a moral component too, like most of her works; t [...]

I'm going to go ahead and file this under "why haven't I read anything by this author before?"Collections of short stories aren't usually my thing, especially when it comes to science fiction or fantasy. It takes a lot of strong, compelling world-building to get me to buy in, and that's a tricky thing to do within the limits of a short story. In each of these short stories, Butler does it.I'll admit to skimming over the essays a bit not because I'm not interested, and not because they weren't am [...]

I'm late to the party; I understand this. Previously, I'd only been familiar with Bloodchild, which I'd enjoyed. I was wrong. She was so, so much better than I imagined.I originally got interested in mythology, fantasy and science fiction because it allowed me to enter a space that was new and mysterious. Octavia Butler unlocks that very same door and turns me, at half-a-century back into a wide-eyed youth again. There are astonishing layers to her narrative, which, by their own merit, are first [...]

What an astonishing introduction to Octavia E. Butler! This being the first novel of hers for me I fell in love not only with a beautiful writing style, but the beautiful mind behind the stories as well. There are afterwords provided for each story in this collection and Octavia makes them insightful not only in the plots of the stories themselves but also her inspiration for them. I have never read anything like this before and it will be sticking with me for a long time. Anyone who enjoys scie [...]

Octavia E. Butler is an amazing author. I've loved her novels and now I'm a fan of her short stories. But what I loved most about this collection of short stories were the two essays at the end. One, Positive Obsession, is a brief account of her path to becoming a writer. The second, Furor Scribendi, she wrote for the anthology series, Writers of the Future where she talks about the 'Rules of Writing' with an emphasis on Persistence.

Highly disturbing and I had really hoped for a different ending. The story is original on so many levels that it makes it a very powerful read. The weirdness of the portrayed world reminded me of one of those Outer Limits episodes, mixing societal issues with space colonisation and inter-species interactions in a terrifying and angering environment.

I've taught the short story "Bloodchild" for a while and it's one of my favorites to teach. It's engrossing and impactful. I picked this up to read the rest of the short stories included and really enjoyed it. Butler claimed to have disliked writing short stories, but as a reader, they are very strong.

This is another side to Octavia. For some reason, I don't feel sad or disappointed in the endings of her short stories which captures her amazing skills. The last two chapters actually have changed my life and I plan to reference them often. She ends the book with "Persist!" and that's so fitting in 2017.

I am particularly happy that these short stories were accompanied by afterwards. I have spent so much of my time as an English major intercepting my own interpretations with what the author intended, and afterwards presided and unexpected relief from that duty. It is a beautiful first introduction to Octavia E. Butler, a journey I’m embarking on this month.

Bloodchild is a marvel, one of my new favorite stories (alongside Chiang's "Division by Zero" and Moshfegh's "Bettering Myself"). The Book of Martha poses one of the most interesting questions in fiction. Otherwise, I could take or leave the other stories - they all struck me as first drafts.

How has it taken me so long to read Butler's work? What else am I missing?This collection of short stories, essays, and new stories was wonderful. I read it in one shift, and I'm excited to read the other novel of hers I got from the library (sadly, 2 books was all they had).

I've been wanting to read Octavia Butler for a long time, thought I'd dip my toe in with this short story collection. Even though she starts out by saying she's not a short story writer, this collection is wonderful!

An excellent collection of Butler's short stories (and a few personal essays). The title sci-fi short story "Bloodchild" and her personal essay on the writing life were my favorites. I highly recommend this book and plan to purchase a copy for my personal library.

Each of these stories made me think and some of them made me cry. I also enjoyed Butler's afterword for each story -- whether or not I agreed with her assessment, it was interesting to see what she thought or in what circumstances she wrote each one.